Obama extends “National Emergency” against Iran

US President Barack Obama has renewed an executive order that extends for another year a so-called “National Emergency” with regards to Iran, in place since 1995.

Obama’s move comes despite the recent nuclear deal that was reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in July last year and went into effect in January.

The accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) puts limits on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program in exchange for removal of all nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The executive order means non-nuclear US sanctions against Iran will remain in effect for at least another year.

“Despite the historic deal to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program, certain actions and policies of the Government of Iran continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” Obama wrote in a notice that was posted on the White House’s official website.

The president noted that the “renewal, therefore, is distinct from the emergency renewal of November 2015.”

Back then, Obama extended Washington’s decades-old "state of emergency" with respect to Iran that has been in place since 1979 and keeps sanctions against the Islamic Republic in place for one more year.